


Zombieland

by RedThreads



Category: Zombieland (2009)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Eventual Romance, F/M, Family, Romance, Swearing, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-11
Updated: 2015-02-10
Packaged: 2018-03-11 15:07:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3330422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedThreads/pseuds/RedThreads
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I wanted the story of Zombieland to continue in the worst way, and this is just my take on what might happen. As I am a massive fan of Tallahassee, I wanted to give him a little happiness. Soo... what if his son didn't die? And got himself one badass savior?</p><p>As this is a Zombieland fic, it would be criminal not to have liberal amounts of swearing and violence. Apologies to any delicate souls, I tried not to go overboard, to stay with the original feel of the movie.</p><p>This story starts six months into the infection and fall of the world, which would be four months into the ZLand crew getting together. This story is very much a work in progress, and I have no beta currently, so any constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated! Also, please let me know if you like the story, as I'm currently just writing it to please myself, so this and my (soon to be posted) From Dusk Till Dawn story are usually pushed aside to work on stories I know others are waiting for. Thank you and I hope you enjoy!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

My name is Phoenix. Yup, that’s really my name, Phoenix Stormcloud Rivera. Trust me, I did better than my brother, Paisley Rainbow. My parents were kinda hippies. Emphasis on were. Like much of the population, they died shortly after Patient Zero took that fateful bite from an infected burger. Zombies. Out of all of the insane, convoluted end of the world scenarios, it had to be zombies. The world has become one giant horror movie. It’s been around six months since then and I’m still alive. More importantly, my little buddy is still alive. Against all odds, we’ve survived. How I managed to survive zombies, a hurricane, a really horrendous fever, and other survivors who were less than friendly with a four year old is beyond me, but I’m grateful.

Yes, a four year old. His name is Buck, and I found him in the first week of the outbreak. Poor little guy’s house had been attacked while he was home with his babysitter. I heard the screaming and went to see if I could help, but it had been too late for the teenager. I beat in the heads of the infected bastards who came at me and was about to make good on my escape when I heard a little crying noise. I found this scared little towheaded boy stuffed behind a truly hideous floral couch, silent tears streaming from his big blue eyes as he whimpered in fear, clutching a tattered blue teddy bear. I couldn’t leave him, even though I knew it was risk.

I scooped him up in my arms and we fled. He dropped his blue bear in a pool of blood I had to leap over on the way out, but we couldn’t take the time to stop. He didn’t stop crying about that or his dad for a while, but I managed to find him another bear just like the one he lost at a gas station of all places. We did spend some time looking for his dad, but had to get out of town before we found anything. So that’s how I ended up a toddler in my care during the zombie apocalypse. Good thing I’ve never liked doing things the old fashioned way.

Buck’s adjusted fairly well, he’s a sweet little boy and has given me the courage to get up and keep going even when I didn’t know if I had the strength. I’ll do everything in my power to keep him safe, keep him healthy. He’s my little miracle.

This is my story, mine and Buck’s, of our life in these United States of Zombieland.

~*~

Six months. Six fucking months of what was most likely the literal Hell on Earth, with zombies, near constant running, a goddamned hurricane of all things, and a few bands of predatory survivors, and she was going to die because of a stupid stuffed bear. It was enough to make a grown woman scream.

The latch on the back of her ambulance had apparently not caught entirely, or was broken, and had popped open when she had gone over a pothole. Buck, who had been securely strapped in the passenger seat, had looked out the window and seen one of their gear bags fly out of the back, the head of the bright blue bear sticking out of the bag. His tears, rolling down his still adorable chubby cheeks as he bravely tried to say it was okay not to go back for his stuffed friend had convinced her to stop to retrieve the bag. Well, that and the fact the gear bag the bear was stuffed into contained their sleeping bags and extra ammo.

Instead of doing the smart thing and driving back to the bag and continuing on, Phoenix had decided to stop and see if there were any supplies in the ransacked stores they could add to their rapidly diminishing stock. Now she was running as fast and as hard as she could, carrying Buck under one arm as he clung to her like a monkey. He’d dropped the bear again, but there was no way she could retrieve it this time. There were just too many zombies chasing them.

“Ears,” Phoenix snapped out, and the little boy clapped one tiny hand over an ear while pressing the other side of his head against her chest. She turned, spraying a blast of bullets from her Uzi in the mob behind them. Hope sprang up momentarily when she saw the horde was down to a more manageable number. That hope died when she went to fire again and heard the sickening click of an empty clip. She was out and her extra clips were back on the ambulance, at least a hundred yards from where they were, or back in the gear bag she’d been forced to drop when the horde had first started for them. She honestly didn’t know if they’d make it to the ambulance, never mind if the possibly broken latch would hold the infected bastards off while she reloaded.

“Shit. Fuck. Goddammit,” Phoenix muttered, fear hot and greasy in her stomach. They couldn’t die, she couldn’t let Buck, sweet, innocent Buck, die. Plans raced through her mind as she tore through the abandoned town, desperate for any shred of something workable. She had her machetes on her, the pair were bouncing against the opposite hip that Buck was on, but she couldn’t take zombies out while she had Buck.

There! A Hostess truck had crashed and been abandoned, sliding up against a brick wall and creating a perfect vee to hide Buck behind her while the zombies had to funnel in to get them. Phoenix skidded into the vee and set Buck down, quickly demanding that he crawl underneath the vehicle, as close to the wall as possible. She turned back to face the drooling, bleeding, decomposing zombies that were stumbling toward them at a frightening pace, confident that Buck would do as she said, and she pulled her machetes out, crouching down into a battle ready stance.

Phoenix waited until they were closer and then let loose a primal scream that had been building inside her as she flew toward the first beast to get pushed forward, slashing and hacking with her machetes. Blood flew, bones broke, and a head rolled, but Phoenix was on to the next one, her desperate need to survive and her nearly maternal instinct to protect the child driving her with a tunnel-like focus.

Vaguely, over the growls and guttural screams of the dying zombies, Phoenix thought she heard someone else shouting. _Was that a chainsaw?_ Phoenix saw the jagged teeth of the chainsaw ripping through the final zombie and she retreated, backing up against the truck so she was shielding Buck from whoever else was killing the zombies. She had learned a few months ago that not all dangers came from the undead… some of the worst evil still lived in the remaining survivors. She had the scars to prove it. She and Buck hadn’t lived this long just die at the hands of some chainsaw wielding maniac.

~*~

Columbus was driving as Wichita slept in the passenger seat while Tallahassee and Little Rock sat in the back seat discussing Hannah Montana. Four months into this strange little family’s sojourn and he still could not grasp how someone hadn’t ousted the bewigged superstar for a boatload of cash.

“It’s a damn kids’ show, Tal, it doesn’t have to make sense,” Columbus finally muttered, just loud enough for the big man to hear. Little Rock giggled, but Tallahassee just folded his arms over his broad chest and glared at Columbus through the rear-view mirror. As he caught Columbus’s eyes in the mirror, he gave a small, angry nod towards Little Rock before rolling his eyes and staring out the window. Columbus felt like an asshole as he realized that this entire time, the big man had just been keeping the twelve year old entertained.

He was about to open his mouth to apologize when Tallahassee suddenly shot upright and yelled, “Stop the car!”

“What? What happened?” asked Wichita, who was woken suddenly by Tallahassee’s yell. Columbus was too startled to do anything.

“Stop. The fucking. CAR!” Tallahassee roared, already unbuckling his seat belt and fumbling for the latch.

Columbus slammed on the brakes and Tallahassee tumbled from the SUV. The remaining trio watched, stunned, as Tallahassee stumbled toward something in the road before collapsing to his knees.

“What is he picking up?” Wichita asked, as Tallahassee clutched something to his chest.

Columbus shook his head, but Little Rock was still young enough to instantly recognize what Tallahassee had plucked from the ground. “It’s a… a teddy bear,” she said, her heart breaking a little as she realized why the sight of it must tug at her friend so.

“Must look like something his son had,” Wichita said, frowning as she thought about what it must have been like for Tallahassee. She didn’t know if she’d have been able to go on if she had lost Little Rock. They were all so jaded these days, but once in awhile, something shocked them back into a sense of empathy.

Tallahassee looked over at his friends, his eyes bright with pain as he staggered to his feet. “It doesn’t just look like a kid’s toy, it looks exactly like Buck’s BooBear. He carried that damn bear everywhere,” Tallahassee said, his voice hoarse as he trudged back to the SUV, the raggedy teddy bear tucked under his arm.

Columbus felt tears prick his eyes in sympathy and took a deep breath, hoping that no one else had noticed. “C’mon, man,” he said, his voice just slightly watery, clapping him on the shoulder. “Let’s get going.”

Tallahassee sighed and was about to get into the vehicle when a sound caught his attention. It was one that had become all too familiar in the past few months. Someone was screaming, full of rage and fear. After seeing a bear exactly like what his son had cherished, it proved too much for the cowboy. With a growl, he tossed the bear in the SUV and headed for the back.

“Tal, what are you doing, we need to go!” Little Rock cried, chasing after him.

“Gonna kill some motherfuckin’ zombies,” Tallahassee rumbled, ripping open the back of the black SUV. He pulled out a chainsaw and gave the pullstart a tug. A maniacal grin crossed his face as the chainsaw roared to life. He waggled his eyebrows at the trio and took off towards the scream, letting out a wild cheer as he ran.

“Shit!” Columbus cried, running a hand through his curly mop of hair. Little Rock and Wichita looked towards him and he was horrified to see that they were waiting to see what he would do. “Get in the car, we’re going after him,” Columbus said and they piled into the SUV, peeling after their insane friend.

Tallahassee knew he was being stupid, but his chest and head hurt too much, and his impulse control had always been shit. He came upon a pile of zombies trying to get at whoever was hiding between a crashed Hostess truck and a grocery store wall. From the screams of rage and hacking noise, he knew the person was still alive.

 

Instant gratification and a strange relief flooded Tallahassee the moment he began cutting into the stinking infected. In a very short amount of time, he stood in the middle of severed limbs, heads, and broken torsos, panting slightly as the chainsaw rumbled to a stop, blood and bone shards splattered all over him. Normal Tuesday in the US of Z. He looked up, towards the person he had heard on the other side of the zombies and his eyes widened.

In front of him was a young Hispanic woman, her dusky skin streaked with sweat, blood, and dirt, crouched in a defensive stance, holding her two machetes out as if daring him to come at her. Stormy, intense green eyes stared him down from a thin, nearly feline face that reminded him vaguely of Rosario Dawson, her wide mouth twisted in a snarl. With blood dripping off her machetes, her fierce stance, dark hair caught back in a braid almost like a short mohawk, the tips appearing blonde and pink, and combat style black pants and fitted leather motorcycle jacket, she looked like a warrior queen out of some apocalyptic movie. Granted, that was basically what the world had turned into.

“Whoa, now,” Tallahassee said, raising his free hand, and pushing his tan cowboy hat back from his forehead a bit. “Lady, I’m gonna be real pissed if you come at me with those gross blades after I just hacked apart several zombies to save your ungrateful ass,” he told her. He refused to admit that he was relieved when he heard the squeal of the SUV’s tires behind him and the slam of doors, while a gun cocked behind him. He’d bet money it was Little Rock who was taking aim. Girl had a way with firearms.

The woman crouched lower, her eyes flying to take in the newcomers before swinging back to his. “Thanks,” she ground out. “I got it from here.”

Tallahassee rocked back on his boot heels. He really didn’t want to leave another survivor out here to die, but his little group had learned that not everyone who had survived the plague wanted to rejoin humanity. It had suited them just fine. Still… “We ain’t bit,” he tried again.

“Congratulations,” was all she said. Her eyes flicked nervously toward the underside of the Hostess truck and then were on him again in a flash.

“Yer funeral,” Tallahassee drawled, irritation replacing any guilt at leaving her behind. He began to turn when a little blonde head poked out from under the truck, sky blue eyes meeting his, eyes the same exact color. The chainsaw dropped from his suddenly nerveless fingers.

“Daddy!” the little boy cried, wriggling out from under the truck and running towards him.

“Buck, no!” the woman cried, dropping her machetes to lunge towards the child, her eyes wild with panic. The little boy slipped past her fingers and latched onto Tallahassee’s leg, burying his face into the material of his pants.

“B-buck?” Tallahassee stared down at the tiny ghost clinging to his leg and felt as if he had just been gut punched. He was dead. He was dead and finally in Heaven. That was the only explanation. Yet, he could feel the lukewarm blood of the zombies on his face, the press of those small arms tightening on his leg. Slowly, carefully, he disentangled the little boy, lifting him up to stare at him face to face.

“Put him down!” the woman growled threatening, picking up her blades and pointing one of her machetes at him as she stalked forward, but Tallahassee heard her as if he were underwater. It was the same with the shocked cries from his friends behind him. He was too busy staring into a face he had thought was lost to him forever.

“Daddy?” the little boy asked, reaching out to pat Tallahassee’s face, stroking the line of his jawline scruff, just as he always had.

At that gentle touch, Tallahassee broke. He clutched his son, his miraculously alive son, to his chest and fell to his knees for the second time that night. Soft, chubby arms encircled his neck and Buck laid his head on Tallahassee’s shoulder, sighing in contentment as Tallahassee shuddering with silent, body wracking sobs.

Phoenix stopped her charge when she saw the big cowboy collapse to the ground, holding Buck as tears rolled down his cheeks while her little buddy wrapped his arms around the man’s neck. Uneasy, she looked up to see the two young women and a somewhat scrawny twenty-something guy get out of the vehicle, the youngest of the girls careful to keep a sawed off shotgun trained on Phoenix. Shock was written on all of their faces.

“Tal, what the fuck is happening?” the older girl, a strikingly pretty brunette in her early twenties, asked as she took a cautious step forward, her eyes swinging from her kneeling compatriot to Phoenix, who was still holding her machetes.

“It’s Buck,” the big man choked out, rocking back and forth just slightly as he pressed his cheek against the soft, short blonde hair of the little boy.

“Holy shit,” the scrawny, curly haired guy whispered, tears shining in his eyes as a smile broke across his face.

Phoenix watched the gentle, loving way the man held Buck and knew the impossible had happened. “Buck, _chiquito_ , is this who I think it is?” she asked softly, lowering her blades.

The little boy looked up at her, his face beaming with happiness. “We found him, Phe! We found him!” he said, bouncing up and down in his father’s arms. The man just shuddered with another sob, stroking a hand over Buck’s head.

Phoenix smiled at Buck, although she kept glancing towards the other three as they came closer. “I’m so glad, baby,” she whispered, her throat closing.

“I thought you were dead, oh God, Buck, I thought you were dead,” Tallahassee choked out. “There was so much blood, and I called and called for you. I was so sure you were dead.”

That answered one question for Phoenix, at least. It was oddly comforting that the man holding the boy she had spent six months keeping safe and healthy, loving with all of her heart, hadn’t abandoned the little boy as she had feared. He had clearly been devastated by his loss.

“Phe found me, Daddy!” Buck said excitedly, “She saved me, kept me safe! Phe fought _soooo_ many bad guys, Daddy.” He grinned at his father, who gave him a watery, ear to ear grin, revealing a small gap between his front teeth that matched Buck’s.

Tallahassee lurched to his feet, still clutching his son to him. Phoenix was shocked when he moved like lightning, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her tightly up against Buck and him. “Thank you,” he whispered into her hair, “Thank you, thank you, thank you, oh God, thank you.”

Phoenix instinctively wanted to push out of his embrace, unused to anyone besides Buck touching her, but she knew it wasn’t an attack. She forced herself to relax slightly when she heard Buck giggle at being sandwiched in between them. Still, it was a surprise to find herself mashed up against the broad, muscular chest of a stranger. The man was tall, at least several inches over six feet, and incredibly strong. She wasn’t used to feeling short around people, as she topped off at 5’8”.

“Uhh, Tallahassee, I really hate to do this, but we need to get moving,” the nervous voice of the young guy broke into the strange embrace. “More are going to be coming after all that noise.”

Tallahassee dropped his hold on the woman and backed off a few feet, continuing to hold his son tightly to him. “Right, yeah… you should… you should come with us,” he said, looking at the woman, who seemed nearly as stunned as him. He couldn’t seem to get his mind to function properly, the shock and joy overwhelming most of his thinking. He needed to straighten out, or he could get them all killed. Now, even more than before, that was unacceptable. He felt the three behind him move in closer and he wanted to turn to them, introduce Buck to them, share his joy, but he didn’t dare take his eyes off the woman. He didn’t want to risk her running, or just vanishing, he needed to know more about her, more about how Buck had survived, what it had been like for his son these past six months.

Phoenix saw the shotgun lower in the younger girl’s hands as the three moved closer to the man holding Buck, and sheathed her machetes. She wasn’t at ease, but she didn’t think they were going to instantly attack. The air around them was different, and their joy at discovering the little boy seemed genuine. “Well, I’m not going anywhere without him, and you don’t seem like you’re letting go any time soon,” she said, nodding towards Buck. There was an instant of hesitation while she met the big man’s wide, almost shell-shocked looking eyes, eyes the same exact shade of cornflower blue of that sweet kid in his arms, and then she went with her gut, sticking out her hand. “I’m Phoenix. Glad you aren’t dead,” she said, her voice a little huskier than she had intended. Her world was about to change in a big way, and she wasn’t sure she was prepared for it.

The curly haired guy gave a surprised laugh. “Shit, does everyone have your rule of no real names, Tallahassee?” he asked, before anyone else could say anything.

Phoenix stared at him, confused by what he was saying, but before she could say anything, a large, warm hand, rough with callouses, engulfed hers, and she was treated to a short, firm shake. “Tallahassee. I really can’t thank you enough,” he said, his drawling, Southern tinged voice still hoarse. He pointed to the guy behind him, swiveling Buck in one arm so the boy rested on his hip and could see more clearly. “This here is Columbus,” he pointed to the young woman, “Wichita,” and twisted around to young teen on the other side of him, who still held the sawed off shotgun loosely in her arms, “and this hellion is Little Rock.” He grinned, a huge ear to ear grin as he presented the boy of his hip. “Guys, this is my sweet baby boy, Buck. Buck, can you say hello to Daddy’s friends?”

Columbus raised a hand and gave a nervous, lop-sided smile. “Hey, Buck.”

Little Rock gave a wave and big smile, while Wichita grinned. “Hey, little guy, we’ve heard a ton about you,” she said, her voice low and kind.

Buck seemed to shrink back from the three new people, his fingers clenching on the fabric of Tallahassee’s maroon v-neck. “Phe?” he asked, his voice high and nervous as he looked around for his friend, his savior. Tallahassee stared at him in concern at the obvious fear in his son’s voice and the way he shrank away from the newcomers. He’d always been so friendly before.

Phoenix stepped up to Tallahassee, in clear view of Buck, making sure a reassuring smile was on her face. “Shhh, _chiquito_ , it’s all right. I’m here, and your papa says they’re friends,” she murmured, running a soothing hand over his soft blonde hair. Caring more about the little boy than what the others looking on might think, she leaned in, pressing a kiss to Buck’s forehead. “We’re safe for now,” she whispered, and was relieved when she felt the little boy relax in his father’s arms.

She stepped back, her hand leaving the small head reluctantly. Buck grinned at her, and then turned that sweet, innocent smile on the three new people. “Hi,” he said and then hid his face against his dad’s chest with a giggle.

Tallahassee watched the gentle, loving moment between the woman and his son and felt the air leave his lungs. It was so foreign for his son to turn to anyone besides him for reassurance, yet their bond was evident and strong. He always wanted desperately to know what had happened to make his little Buck so frightened, his own memories of what life was like in Zombieland filling his mind with nightmarish scenarios. “Why is he so scared of strangers?” Tallahassee muttered quietly out of the side of his mouth, shooting a questioning, somewhat cold glance at the woman who had called herself Phoenix.

Phoenix shook her head, mouthing, “Later,” while nodding slightly towards Buck, who was currently peeking out at Little Rock and giving her a small wave again. Tallahassee blew out an impatient breath. He wanted to know now, but he didn’t want to upset his son. He also knew they had to get out of the open and to shelter as soon as possible.

Tallahassee set his jaw and squared his shoulders. Buck was alive and in his arms, and he was determined to keep it that way. He wouldn’t let his awe of this hinder his ability to protect Buck or his ragtag Zombieland family. For now, that meant getting everyone, including this Phoenix, back to shelter. Questions and planning could happen then. “Alright, I know we were bored as hell at the last place, but it’s only an hour away and we know it was secure. Let’s head back there for tonight and start fresh tomorrow,” Tallahassee stated.

“Phe and me too, Daddy?” Buck asked, tugging on his shirt and Tallahassee felt his heart break just a little that his boy had even thought to ask.

“Of course you are comin’,” he said hoarsely, pressing a kiss to Buck’s forehead.

“Phe too?”

Tallahassee looked over at the warrior woman who had so fiercely guarded his son, raising an eyebrow at her, his expression silently asking if she was coming as well. She nodded, exhaustion suddenly evident in the slump of her leather-clad shoulders. “I told you, I’m not going anywhere without Buck, so yeah, I’m coming,” she replied.

“Great. Good. So can we go now? Please?” Columbus asked, shifting nervously from foot to foot as he looked around, clearly suspecting the infected to appear at any moment.

“Gonna be crowded in the Escalade, but we’ll make it work,” Wichita said, a small, cautious smile aimed at Phoenix.

“I got an ambulance a couple hundred yards up. Nearly full tank, good supplies. I’ll follow you guys in that,” Phoenix said. This seemed to work for everyone and Columbus quickly scrambled into the black SUV, starting the vehicle. Phoenix started to jog towards her ambulance, but it felt so wrong without Buck’s hand in hers, or his weight on her hip. She looked back at him in his father’s arms and felt her chest constrict.

Tallahassee saw the panicked, pained look in her eyes as Phoenix stared at Buck and knew she was struggling with separating herself from the little boy. Buck was staring at her as well, his bottom lip quivering just slightly as his small hands clenched once more in the fabric of Tallahassee’s shirt. “Fuck,” he muttered under his breath. “Guys, I’m riding with Phoenix,” he said more loudly as he walked away from the pile of body parts, and was gratified to feel Buck relax once more. It seemed that the woman did as well.

Little Rock made a protesting sound as he passed her, and he patted her on the shoulder, giving her a lopsided grin. “Don’t worry, Little Rock, we’ll be right behind you. I’ll kick your ass at checkers again when we get to the house,” he told her. The twelve year old still looked unsure, but she joined Columbus and her sister in the SUV.

Tallahassee looked at Phoenix. “Lead the way,” he said, gesturing for her to go on. “They’ll follow us to the ambulance, make sure it’s safe and then we’ll follow them.”

Phoenix took a deep breath, staring into Tallahassee’s clear, steady blue eyes. Not a hint of deceit or bullshit. This was it. Her life as she knew it was once again over. Once again, she took in the way those big arms gently cradled the little boy she would have gladly given her life for. For Buck, she’d take the chance. For Buck, she’d take the risk and tie her fate to this strange group of other survivors. for now. “This way,” was all she said, and turned, walking down the cracked asphalt toward her ambulance, trusting that he would follow.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So Buck and Tallahassee have been reunited. This is the rather tense start to the four amigos adjusting to the idea of a toddler and stranger in their midst, one definitely staying, the other possibly as well.
> 
> Again, Zombieland fic so there is swearing, and violence.
> 
> Also, this is beta'd by just little old me, so all mistakes are mine. I tried to be careful, but any constructive criticism is always welcomed, as is the knowledge that someone besides me is enjoying this tale. Thanks for reading!

Columbus idled the Escalade while Phoenix checked the latch on the ambulance and reloaded her Uzi. Luckily, the latch wasn’t broken, it just hadn’t caught all the way the last time she had shut the door. She’d have to be more careful about that in the future. “Ready to go,” she decreed, and climbed into the driver’s seat, starting the big diesel engine.  
  
“Love a good diesel,” Tallahassee said, a grin on his face, as he swung himself and Buck into the passenger side. He settled Buck in the middle section of the bench seating and gave a go ahead signal to the trio in the Escalade beside them.  
  
“Diesel’s the way to go. Too many other survivors were using up gas in the beginning and I bring a programer with me that helps increase the mileage I get with the ambulance,” Phoenix explained as she helped Buck with his seatbelt.  
  
Tallahassee was impressed with her logic, which he had to admit he hadn’t considered at all. All of the vehicles his little group had been using had been gas engines. It was just what they had come across most frequently. It was also incredibly strange, but kind of touching to see the woman helping his boy. Buck looked up at him as the buckle clicked into place and gave him a concerned frown. “Seatbelt on, Daddy,” he told him, patting Tallahassee’s side.  
  
“Shit. Columbus is going to love you, bud,” Tallahassee muttered, but he put his seatbelt on, and the ambulance rumbled onto the road, following behind the big, black SUV in front of them. A tense silence reigned for a few minutes, although the little boy between them seemed blissfully unaware, one hand cradled in his daddy’s large hand, the other stroking the smooth leather of Phoenix’s jacketed arm as she drove.  
  
Tallahassee was still struggling to accept the reality that his son was alive. A large part of him was terrified that he was going to wake up in a moment to find this was all a vicious dream. He shot a glance at the woman next to him, the one who had to have risked her life over and over again to keep his son alive. Was she something he would have dreamt up? When he was dreaming of women, they were usually buxom, tan, and had a lot of wavy blonde hair, with fuck me eyes, and lush lips. Built like a brick shithouse, as his daddy was fond of saying.  
  
This Phoenix was none of these things. She was more of an apocalypse toughened warrior woman, with caramel skin, almond shaped misty green eyes that watched him cautiously through thick, dark lashes, measuring him and his every move. Her dark hair was caught up in a mowhawk style braid, although the ends of it were a blonde that faded into a rosy pink of all things. She was surprisingly pretty, beneath all of the sweat and dirt, with a square face softened by a slightly pointed chin, high, broad cheekbones, and wide mouth that wasn’t lush, but full. Again, he was reminded of Rosario Dawson, although he knew that was ridiculous. Now that he was studying her, he was surprised to see that she had a small silver ball directly above the bow of her top lip, below her nose, and two thin, silver hoops that were flat against her bottom lip on the right side. Piercings during the zombie apocalypse were shocking and seemed like asking for trouble, but here she was, six months into it. He wondered what other surprises she might have beneath her zipped up leather motorcycle jacket and black, military style pants.  
  
Before he could pursue that dangerous line of thinking, he squeezed Buck’s hand, and forced himself to talk. “Why’d ya pick an ambulance?” he asked, not even aware he had been curious until the question left his mouth.  
  
Phoenix was startled by the break in the tense silence. She’d been aware of his assessing gaze, but wasn’t offended. She’d be doing the same thing if she didn’t need to watch the road. He’d want to know as much as possible about the person who had cared for his kid, as she’d want to know as much as possible about the man who was most likely going to be part of Buck’s life again. “I was an EMT training to be a paramedic when all this started,” she said, deciding there was no harm in answering his question. “I probably would have been one of the first people infected by bites if I’d been on duty, but I got lucky… I was busy at my other job at the tattoo parlor, and by the time I heard about all of this, we knew not to let anyone close enough to bite. Regardless, I thought an ambulance would be the best bet. They’re reliable, lots of storage, stocked with supplies, and good for bashing into things and still going,” she told him.  
  
“Huh. Never even thought about it, but that’s smart as hell,” Tallahassee said, clearly impressed.  
  
Phoenix glanced over at him quickly. “Six months into this and this is only the third one we’ve gone through,” she said, her tone slightly smug.  
  
Tallahassee’s eyebrows shot up. “Just three in six months?! Shit, we’re stopping each time we see a better vehicle. We go through them so damn fast.”  
  
“Well… we went through a few weeks without one,” Phoenix found herself admitting.” Her eyes shot to Buck, whose hand was suddenly clenching the leather jacket over her arm. Tallahassee opened his mouth to ask, but she gave a quick shake of her head.  
  
He saw how nervous Buck was again, and the white knuckles of Phoenix’s hands clenched around the steering wheel coupled with the compression of her lips made even want to know even more badly. Only the desire to keep Buck smiling stopped him. Still… he caught her eyes and narrowed his at her. “I _will_ hear this story soon,” he said quietly, a rumble of warning underneath the soft tone.  
  
Phoenix hesitated, and then gave a short nod. “Later,” she agreed. It was strange, uncomfortable even, but Phoenix knew she was going to have to let go of her usual way of doing things and open up about the last six months to the man who was Buck’s father. It would be cruel and foolish not to let him know what had gone on.  
  


~*~

“Do you…” Little Rock hesitated, biting her lip.

“Spit it out,” Wichita said, looking back at her sister from the passenger seat. Columbus briefly met her eyes in the rear-view mirror and gave her an encouraging nod.

“Do you think… Tallahassee is going to leave us now that he had his kid?” Her voice broke on the last word, and Little Rock looked down quickly, so the others wouldn’t see the sheen of tears in her eyes. She didn’t want to seem weak, but as messed up as it was, this was the first real family she had ever had, and the idea of losing the man she thought of as a father was devastating.

“Oh, Little Rock,” Wichita murmured, releasing her seatbelt and climbing into the back to hug her tightly. “I don’t know, sweetie,” she said honestly, her own concern making her voice hoarse.

“Don’t be stupid,” Columbus shot out. Wichita glared at him through the rear-view mirror. “Sorry,” he muttered. He knew the girls were used to being abandoned, but surely they knew Tallahassee better by now! “He’s not going to leave us. You saw him with his son, family is everything to that guy. As fucked up as it is, we’re his family now. After all we’ve been through, we just are. He’s not leaving. If anything, we’re going to have to learn how to move around with a toddler,” he continued, his tone less harsh.

“What about the lady? Think she’ll stick?” Little Rock asked, eager for his opinion. She’d never admit it to him, but their initial con aside, he had proven to be the best at reading people.

Columbus tilted his head, considering. He hadn’t watched the woman as carefully as he usually did. He’d been too shocked that Tallahassee’s son was actually alive. “I don’t know. I hope she doesn’t try to take Buck and run, pretty sure Tallahassee would rip her apart worse than any zombie.”

Wichita and Little Rock shuddered. Few things were scarier than Tallahassee in a rage. “God help the bitch if she tries,” Wichita said, shaking her head.

Little Rock narrowed her eyes. “I’ll help him kill her,” she declared, her tone venomous. No one messed with the people she cared about.

“You are terrifying,” Columbus muttered and Little Rock shot him a vicious grin. “Well, I guess we’ll get our answers soon enough, we’re back,” he announced as he turned into the driveway of the ranch set back from the rest of the other homes on the  cul-de-sac in the Arizona suburb.

The group had initially chosen the house because it was the only completed and previously inhabited home in the cul-de-sac, which, according to the blood streaked, broken sign at the beginning of the road, was the ‘Brand New Desert Rose Housing Division Homes For Sale’. Now the bloom was definitely off the Desert Rose, but some supplies had been left in the ranch house, and there had still been water in the aquifer the well drew from. The trio got out of the Escalade and began a cursory perimeter sweep for any nasty infected as they waited for the ambulance to pull into the driveway.

Phoenix grimaced as she saw the three young people in front of the ranch, the sun setting the sky on fire as it set behind the house. Instantly, she wanted to laugh at her ridiculous frame of mind calling them young. She was only 28, and the older two of the trio couldn’t be more than a few years younger than her, but she felt ancient sometimes. Still, the idea of spending the night with these new people was discomforting, to say the least. It went against every survival rule she had taught herself and Buck. She glanced at the little boy, who was practically bouncing in his seat with excitement, a wide grin showcasing his adorable little gap between his front teeth. Oh, how she wanted to grab him and just run. Get away from all of them.

One look at the big man on the other side of Buck told her she wouldn’t get far. He had barely moved, yet the set of his broad shoulders and his steady, assessing gaze from darkening blue eyes beneath his brown cowboy hat let her know he was dangerous. He was a tall, muscular man who had made it this far in Zombieland, she was fast, strong, and smart, but there would be no contest if she made a break for it from this distance. Besides… how could she take Buck from him? After seeing his tears and Buck’s innocent, all encompassing joy. No, she would force herself to get through this night, and they would see what the morning brought.

“C’mon, _chiquito_ , let’s go see your papa’s hidey hole,” Phoenix said softly, dropping Tallahassee’s intense stare to help Buck with his seatbelt.

“Smart choice,” came the satisfied rumble, and he met her annoyed frown with a grin. Once again, it was fascinating to see Buck’s adorable little gap in his front teeth in the grown up version, especially on a man who gave the impression of being a badass. While Phoenix was absorbing that very adult version of her favorite smile, Tallahassee hopped down from the ambulance and held his hands out to Buck. “Come meet Daddy’s friends,” he said and Buck scrambled into his arms.

Phoenix slid out of the ambulance, and quickly moved to the back, grabbing the gear bag that held most of her and Buck’s sleeping supplies, minus the sleeping bags, and then another bag filled with weapons. One could never be too careful, after all. She jogged to catch up with Tallahassee, taking care to scan the area for any evidence of zombie movement. She had to admit, this was a pretty good choice for a place to crash for a few days.

“Need help carrying anything else?” Columbus asked, as Phoenix came closer. He’d never been a naturally friendly person, but his experiences with Tallahassee and the girls had changed that slightly. He also knew that no one else was likely to offer, and he wanted to at least try to be mannerly while the newcomer appeared friendly...ish.

Phoenix was surprised by the offer. “Ummm… no, thank you. This should do for now. What’s the procedure for entering a place with you guys?” She knew what she wanted to do to ensure safety, but it couldn’t hurt to ask what they did.

“We split up, cover the whole house, make sure no infected have come back, and then we’ll scrounge up dinner. There’s still water here if you wanna shower.” The relief on Phoenix’s face softened her for just a moment, and Columbus realized for the first time that she was only a few years older than him and her eyes looked like she used to laugh a lot B. Z. Before Zombies. She had been so tense and exhausted, that he hadn’t been able to get a good gauge of her before. It was weird, but he found he was actually comforted to think that Tallahassee’s kid had been with someone who knew how to laugh.

“Wichita, why don’t you come with Phoenix and me, Columbus, you and Little Rock can take the other part. I’m hungry, so let’s get this done,” Tallahassee said, clearly itching to get in and get settled.

Wichita sauntered over, a smile on her face as she greeted the little boy who was still in Tallahassee’s arms. “Hey there, handsome, are you gonna help us look for zombies?” she asked, her voice friendly.

Buck giggled, turning his face and giving her a coy smile. “I’m good at it,” he bragged, puffing his chest up. Tallahassee let out a crack of laughter at his son’s confidence, and kissed his forehead.

“Yes, you are, you flirt,” Phoenix said affectionately. It warmed her heart to see how sweet everyone was being to the little boy, to see his easy smile.

“Okay, Daddy needs his hands free for this. You stay in between us, okay?” Tallahassee said, letting the little boy slide to the ground. Buck patted his father’s leg reassuringly and moved next to Phoenix, taking her hand.

“I know what to do,” Buck told him, and Phoenix shook her head, rolling her eyes at his cavalier attitude. She noticed a small frown cross Tallahassee’s face as Buck grabbed her hand, but it was gone in a flash, and she and the big man shared a look. Clearly there were things both of them were going to have to get used to.

Moving quickly and efficiently, they moved through the house, Wichita taking the lead, followed by Tallahassee, who kept glancing back at Phoenix and Buck. Little Rock and Columbus were making sure the outside was safe. They cleared the kitchen, living room, what appeared to be a den, and were working their way down the hallway to the laundry room and guest bathroom when Phoenix felt the hair on the back of her neck go up.

There was a growling, gurgling noise, and everyone instantly whipped around, searching for the source of the sound. They passed the door for the laundry and bathroom combo when Buck whispered “Up!” loudly, letting go of Phoenix’s hand.

Phoenix pulled one of her machetes from her belt, ready, as a drooling, bleeding, pale female zombie fell from the attic entrance they had unknowingly passed under, half of the skin on her face missing. “Eyes,” she called to Buck, who immediately clapped his hands over his eyes. The zombie lunged toward her and she swung the machete like a bat, slicing through the neck and most of the spine before pinning the screaming monster to the wall. She pulled her other blade and slammed it through the top of the zombie’s head, ending the struggle.

“Impressive,” Wichita said, hand on her hip as she surveyed Phoenix’s handy work.

Phoenix yanked her blades from the wall and the skull, wiping them clean on the tattered remains of the zombie’s clothes as it slid to the ground in the slumped pile. “Thanks,” she said with a grin. “You can look now,” she told Buck, who stopped covering his eyes and held a hand up for a high five, which Phoenix gave him.

“Why’d ya have him cover his eyes?” Tallahassee asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

Phoenix shrugged, tucking her machetes away when no more infected fell from the attic. “He was having nightmares about the way things were being killed. So I have him cover his eyes whenever possible and he’s doing a lot better,” she told him.

The thoughtfulness of that nearly made Tallahassee choke up. It was easier to concentrate on that instead of the idea of his boy having bad dreams without him there to comfort him. “Thanks,” was all he said, and Phoenix nodded.

“Good thing this is the toilet you clogged, we don’t have to come back to this section of the house for anything,” Wichita said, curling her lip at the body of the zombie, which was now slumped against the sink next to the toilet.

“Hey now!” Tallahassee protested, “That’s your boy toy who did that! That bastard is a shitting machine.” Wichita just shrugged, she couldn’t really argue with that.

The group moved back through the rooms they had already cleared, after Tallahassee hoisted himself up to peek into the storage space for more zombies, heading for the other half of the house. There were two bedrooms and a master suite, containing the most beautiful shower Phoenix had seen in a long time. It was all clear. “You said this place still has working water?” she asked, staring longingly at the shower.

“Oh yeah,” Wichita said, completely understanding what Phoenix was going through. “No hot water, but it’s been so hot out, it doesn’t even matter.”

“I honestly don’t know if I remember what hot water feels like,” Phoenix said, causing the other two adults to nod.

“Heard Yellowstone has hot springs,” Tallahassee said and they all sighed, thinking about how nice that would feel. Buck looked at all three of the adults, confusion on his face. “It’s like a big, giant tub, feels awesome,” his father explained. Buck immediately lost interest, the idea of a giant tub holding no allure to him. Tallahassee grinned, pleased that some things hadn’t changed. The only way he’d gotten his baby boy to take a bath was with the bribery of a lot of bubbles.

“Clear!” came the muted voice of Little Rock from the entrance of the house..

“Clear!” Wichita yelled back, leaning around the group, so her sister would hear. “Do you wanna shower first or eat?” she asked, having been in Phoenix’s dusty, filthy place before and knew it was a difficult decision.

It was tempting, but Phoenix knew better than to turn down an opportunity to eat while relatively safe. Food was necessary for survival, getting clean was a luxury these days. “We should eat first, just in case something happens,” she said, casting one last, longing glance at the shower.

“Food, food, food!” Buck chanted, doing a little booty shaking dance that had the adults cracking up. “We eat now?” he asked plaintively, looking from face to face.

“Yeah, buddy, let’s go chow down,” Tallahassee grinned, and Buck grabbed his hand as they started back towards the kitchen.

A short time later, all six were seated around the table in the kitchen, cans of warmed soup and pasta and sauce poured into bowls, as Little Rock insisted. She and Tallahassee had a minor squabble over it, which Phoenix took to be habitual by the eye rolling and head shaking from Columbus and Wichita. It really was a like a scene from a family dinner, if the family was forced into cooking by candlelight, using the wood-fired oven the ranch luckily had to heat up cans. Phoenix found herself wondering how they had all found each other and managed to stick together through the nightmare that was Zombieland.

She waited a few minutes, until everyone was happily eating, including Buck, who was getting nearly as much on his face as in his mouth. “How did you guys meet?” she asked, breaking the silence that had fallen as they ate.

The four looked up, and then all looked at each other, clearly surprised. “It’s… ummm… Tallahassee and I met in Garland, Texas. He told me he was hard to get along with and he suspected I was a bit of a bitch,” Phoenix let out a surprised laugh at this and Tallahassee grinned, clearly not at all remorseful.

“You were a bitch, but you had guts,” Tallahassee said, pointing his spoon at the wiry young man. He turned to Phoenix. “I told him I gave our relationship until about Texarkana. We stopped at a grocery store to get some Twinkies.”

“Twinkies…. you stopped for Twinkies,” Phoenix repeated, disbelief in her voice.

Tallahassee raised an eyebrow. “You better not diss those delicious, creamy bastards. They made life worthwhile for a bit,” he said, his voice entirely serious.

Phoenix shook her head. “It’s just funny… Buck went nuts for them the few times we found them,” she said.

“Is that right?” Tallahassee was delighted “Like father, like son, right, Buck?” He held up his hand and the little boy gave him an enthusiastic high five. Phoenix was charmed by the way Tallahassee’s face lit up, as happy as a child’s, at the news. “Anyway, after some righteous zombie bashin’,” he attempted to continue.

“He quoted ‘ _Deliverance_ ’ and beat one to death with a banjo, another with a bat, and the final one with a pair of garden shears,” Columbus interrupted, and Phoenix had to admit she was pretty damn impressed.

“Heh, heh, I forgot that. Best line I’ve had, I think. Anyway, this innocent faced bitch and her friggin’ sister got the drop on us, stole our weapons and my Caddy,” he said, shooting a glare at the two girls.

Little Rock stuck her tongue out at him. “We straight up conned your dumb ass. Then I got the drop on Ohio again after the Caddy’s engine blew. You shoulda seen Tal’s face when he thought I was gonna shoot him with his gun,” she grinned as she told Phoenix, her tone slightly superior.

“Man shouldn’t have to fear getting’ killed by his own gun,” Tallahassee muttered, “‘Specially by a damned twelve year old girl.”

Phoenix was amazed. “Soooo… why are you guys still together?”

Wichita took over the story. “Columbus yelled at us all for acting like assholes and made us realize we were all just trying to survive. Long story short, these two joined us on our way to L.A. We met Bill Murray, Columbus shot him.”

“Sorry,” he muttered, refusing to look at Tallahassee. He still felt enormously guilty about that.

“Well, shit.” Phoenix said, “He always made me laugh.”

Wichita nodded. “Then Little Rock and I took off for Pacific Playland, which was stupid, we know that now,” she said, the last a little defensively at Tallahassee’s glare and Phoenix’s incredulous expression. “Florida and Ohio followed and ended up saving the day. I’d never been so happy to see snakeskin in my life,” she said with a grin.

“Snakeskin?” Phoenix was lost again.

Little Rock grinned. “Ugh, it’s so tacky," she said, rolling her eyes dramatically at Tallahassee.

“It’s beautiful, you brat,” Tallahassee interrupted, appalled at the attack on his fashion sense, although he was used to it.

“Whatever helps you sleep at night. Tal took a leather snakeskin jacket as one of his souvenirs of Bill Murray’s house,” she explained to Phoenix. “Anyway, after that we just kinda stuck. We make a good team,” she said, smiling at the other three.

“Yeah we do,” Tallahassee said, pushing her shoulder affectionately.

“How’d you two hook up before you met the guys?” Phoenix asked Wichita. She’d seen the questions in Columbus’s eyes and wanted to delay a little longer. Besides, their last story had been pretty good entertainment.

Little Rock and Wichita shared a look. “We’re sisters,” Wichita said after the briefest hesitation. “Little Rock and I had been on the road together long before the end of the world.”

Phoenix would bet money that they weren’t related by blood, but she didn’t call them out on it. She knew that some of the strongest bonds weren’t forged by shared blood.

“So what about you? How did you find Tal’s son?” Columbus asked the moment there was a stretch of silence. Tallahassee shoveled the rest of his food in his mouth and shoved his bowl to the side, his entire focus now on Phoenix, which she found far too disconcerting.

She took a deep breath. “I was trying to get to my parents’ farm. It was right after the epidemic was announced, so most people still didn’t realize how bad it was. I’d hoped to get to them before they did something dumb, like try to save the ‘sick people’ from the ‘government’. I loved my parents, but they never really left the sixties and the distrust of The Man,” she explained.

“Hippies,” Tallahassee said, shaking his head. Those trusting bastards had been among the first to get taken out by the infection, along with the fatties.

“Oh yeah. Phoenix isn’t where I’m from, or where I’m going, or however you guys chose your names. My parents actually named me that. Phoenix Raincloud Rivera,” she admitted, ignoring the strangled noise from Tallahassee that tried to cut her off before she revealed her whole name.

He threw his hands up, staring up at the ceiling. “What is the point of no real names if everyone just friggin’ blurts them out?” he asked no one in particular.

“Phoenix Raincloud?” Wichita asked, her tone expressing sympathy.

Phoenix nodded. “Yup. Trust me, I did better than my brother. Mom was obsessed with River Phoenix, so the moment she met my dad, she knew she’d name one of her kids Phoenix to mesh with his last name. Thank God I was born first, my brother ended up with Paisley Rainbow,” she said, and Tallahassee snorted with laughter.

“That sounds weirdly familiar,” Columbus murmured quietly to himself. Something about that name clicked in his mind, he just didn’t know why.

“Who is River Phoenix?” Little Rock asked, looking around.

“Your childhood education was a travesty,” Tallahassee told her. He looked back at Phoenix. “So you were on your way to your parents,” he prompted.

“Yup. Rolled through this one town on the way, little place. Can’t even remember the name. I had my window cracked, trying to hear if there was anyone I could help. I saw an open door in this little yellow house and heard screaming. It was stupid, but I stopped. Ummm…” she paused, looking at Buck, who was ignoring the boring adult conversation and making shapes with his leftover noodles. She looked back up at Tallahassee. “You sure you wanna hear?” she asked.

“Yes.” There was a wealth of emotion in that single word. This was a man who needed every single detail, needed to know what had happened, what he had missed.

“I walked in and some poor teen girl was being torn to pieces by five or six zombies. I grabbed the bat that was next to the door and swung at the few who broke away for me. I was going to just bail when I heard this strange crying noise. I could just barely see this sweet little boy hiding behind the sofa in the other room. There was one trying to shove at the sofa to get at him, and I thought for sure he was a goner. I’d never get to him in time. But then those blue eyes met mine and I know I wasn’t leaving him. I ended up breaking the bat over the bastard’s head just in time. Buck reached for me, and I scooped him up. We ran. He dropped his bear, but we couldn’t stop. Once I had him in the ambulance, I didn’t stop until we reached my parents farm.” Phoenix exhaled as she finished her story, unconsciously reaching out to stroke Buck’s soft blonde hair as she did, although her eyes were still on Tallahassee. Columbus might have asked initially, but the tale was for him and everyone knew it.

His jaw was clenched and his mouth set as if he were trying to avoid crying, but his eyes were dry. “Thank you,” he said hoarsely. “I really can’t say it enough. I got home as fast as I could when I saw what was happening, but it wasn’t fast enough. I saw Tiffany, his babysitter, and his BooBear in a pool of blood and I lost it. I yelled and yelled for him, but when he didn’t come, I thought he was dead. Kinda lost it for awhile.”

Buck pushed away from the table and reached out towards his dad. Tallahassee picked him up, holding him on his lap and wrapping his arms around him, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. “We look for you, Daddy,” the little boy said softly, curling into his father’s embrace.

Phoenix nodded. “Once I saw… when I knew my parents weren’t coming with us, we went back to look for you. Buck would not stop crying for you. It just got too dangerous to stick around, so we went East. Buck said his papa mentioned Florida a lot, so I thought why not? I did manage to find him a bear just like the one he lost, too, that helped him a little. Kept the damn thing this whole time, and we dropped it right before you found us.”

“Holy shit!” Little Rock exclaimed, “We saw it! That’s why we stopped, Tal saw it and picked it up!”

“You have his bear?” Phoenix asked, sitting straight up. Buck shot to attention as well, crying “BooBear?” as he did.

Little Rock hopped down from her chair. “Yeah, it’s in the Caddy, I’ll go get it,” she said, grabbing the sawed off shotgun that had been leaning against the table, and taking off.

“Be careful,” Wichita called after her.

A very teenaged “Duh!” floated back to them, making Phoenix smile and Tallahassee shake his head. “His bear was in the house. How did you get him a new one?” he asked Phoenix, stroking a hand down the back of Buck as he bounced up and down in his lap, watching where the young girl had gone with intense focus.

“Sheer luck, honestly. We were grabbing supplies in this gas station and there was one blue bear. It happened to be exactly like the one he lost. I snatched it, and we got the hell out of there,” Phoenix said.

Buck let out a cry of joy and scrambled from his dad’s lap to run towards Little Rock, who entered the kitchen, the bear held triumphantly aloft. She immediately handed it to him, and he spun around in a circle, saying “BooBear, BooBear!” over and over again, making everyone laugh. After a few turns, he launched himself at Little Rock, hugging her tightly. “Tank you,” he said, his little voice filled with relief.

Little Rock felt the ice that had lodged inside her chest shortly after they had discovered Tallahassee’s son crack and melt as those small arms held her tight. She looked over at her sister and Wichita gave her a small smile, clearly understanding what had just happened. Little Rock then looked at Tallahassee, and the pride and happiness on his face was so rewarding. Little Rock never would have expected to care so much about what a big, brash cowboy thought about her, but somehow, she did. It mattered. Now, with one hug, she knew that she’d added this little boy to her makeshift family, that she had a little brother she’d do anything to protect. It was shocking how instant it was, but she’d learned not to question things like this.

Phoenix sat back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest as a small smile touched her lips while she watched the scene in front of her unfold. The young girl’s face had been priceless when Buck hugged her out of nowhere, very sweet to witness. “You have no idea what a relief it is to that bear back,” she said softly.

Tallahassee let out a crack of laughter. “Fuck, that bear is like a goddamn talisman! It’s the reason we found you and Buck,” he said, answering Phoenix small smile with one of his own.

Buck, delighted to have his bear back, settled back down and they all finished eating their meals. “Is anyone else planning on showering?” Phoenix asked, as she helped Columbus and Wichita clear the table.

“We all showered before we left here this morning, so don’t feel like you need to wait,” Wichita said. She might not trust the new girl yet, but if there was anything she understood, it was the intense desire to get clean anytime the opportunity presented itself.

“Buck first,” Phoenix said, pointing to the dirty, spaghetti sauce stained little boy. As much as she wanted to get underneath that shower, she knew he was going to crash soon and she didn’t know the next time she’d have him near clean, safe water that had already been tested by people. She stuck her tongue out at him when he grimaced at her. “No arguing, _chiquito_ , you know the rules,” she told him, laughing at his comical pout. She took a deep breath and turned to Tallahassee. This was going to be tough. “So,” she said, raising her eyebrow, striving to keep her face blank, “Do you want the honor of getting the little monkey clean again?”

Instantly, the tense set of Tallahassee’s shoulders relaxed. He’d worried that this woman was going to fight him for every moment, every task with Buck. It would only be natural after she’d been responsible for him for six solid months. He was wildly grateful that she seemed to understand his deep seated need to spend every possible moment with his miraculously alive son, to do all of the little parenting things that he had missed out on. He sent a look he hoped she knew was thanks, and nodded. He held out his hands to the little boy who was studiously avoiding looking at any of the adults, clearly hoping they would forget about getting him clean. “C’mon, Buck,” he said, waggling his eyebrows, “There’s bubbles.”

“Bubbles!” Buck yelled, and ran to his father, still holding his bear in one arm. “Bubbles, bubbles, bubbles!” he babbled. Tallahassee picked him up and began carting him down the hallway, the chant of bubbles getting softer and softer as the two vanished from sight.

Phoenix felt claws grip her heart and her spine as she watched Buck and Tallahassee disappear down the hallway. It had hurt to let go like that, but she knew it was necessary. The hair began to rise on the back of her neck and she turned her head to see the three remaining people staring at her, studying her. _Oh boy._


End file.
